Market demand and unique grain traits make oats an increasingly attractive ingredient for craft beers, says Sask. brewer at the 2025 Crop Production Show in Saskatoon
There’s huge growth potential for oats as a craft beer ingredient in Canada right now, craft brewer Mark Heise said at Crop Week 2025. “Across Canada, there’s about 1,200 breweries. I can guarantee you, just about all of them are using oats to some degree,” he said today at the SaskOats annual general meeting in […] Read moreTag Archives Oats
U.S. tariffs could impact Canadian oat market as early as next week
Producers shouldn't panic just yet, says oat market analyst at the 2025 Crop Production show
It’s likely that Canadian oat producers will be affected by U.S.-imposed tariffs as early as next week, according to one expert. “I’ll be quite surprised if he (U.S. president-elect Donald Trump) doesn’t implement the tariffs on his first day,” said oat market analyst Randy Strychar at the SaskOats 2025 annual general meeting held today during […] Read more
Cutting nitrogen pays off in oats — if it’s drier
WINNIPEG — It’s possible to make more money from oats by reducing fertilizer rates, says research done at four sites in Saskatchewan. However, like most things in farming, a lot depends on the weather. Less nitrogen equalled more profits in trials done in 2023 because it was a dry growing season. “When you are reducing […] Read more
Rethinking oats
Seed companies look to new varieties to get farmers excited about oats again
When this story ran in the New Seed Variety Guide it incorrectly identified FP Genetics. Oats have had a tough time of late. After reaching a 10-year high of 3.9 million acres in 2022, oat acres dove 40 per cent to 2.5 million acres the next year, the lowest number on record. However, with some […] Read more
Research aims to boost heart healthy oil in oats
Genetic modification was used to increase the amount of oleic acid in the grain, which could also apply to other crops
WINNIPEG — Oats are already a superfood, considering they contain healthy compounds such as beta-glucan that help lower cholesterol and control blood sugars. However, scientists at McGill University in Montreal believe it’s possible to make oats even healthier by improving the quality and quantity of the oil in oat grains. The researchers have found a […] Read more
Chlormequat prompts U.S. lawsuits
WINNIPEG — Fifteen to 20 percent of oat growers in Western Canada apply a plant growth regulator to their crops. That isn’t an exact number — more of a ballpark estimate of how many farmers use chlormequat, which is branded as Manipulator. That use has prompted two class action lawsuits in California against General Mills […] Read more
Oat millers recommend not using Manipulator
WINNIPEG — Oat millers in Canada are telling growers that a plant growth regulator isn’t effective on oats, so farmers probably don’t need to use it. Grain Millers and Paterson Grain, which operate oat mills in Yorkton and Winnipeg, say chlormequat has limited agronomic value and might disrupt demand for Canadian oats. Some farmers in […] Read more
Court remedy sought for unfulfilled contracts
Sask. company claims equipment breakdown at a third-party mill caused it to declare force majeure on contracted oats
REGINA — More than two dozen farmers are moving ahead with legal action against Purely Canada Foods after it failed to honour contracts for gluten-free oats. A Jan. 8 news release said the 27 farmers had completed mandatory mediation with Purely Canada, and its parent company Above Foods, in late 2023 but the matter had […] Read more
Protein may be oats’ next step
WINNIPEG — In a laboratory at the University of Manitoba, Lovemore Malunga held up a Ziploc bag containing a whitish-light brown powder. He opened the bag and carefully poured the powder into a small, plastic container. A master’s student, Vanessa Alexander, placed the container on a scale. She adjusted the scale to account for the […] Read more
Oat protein challenges beta glucan in heart health race
WINNIPEG — Beta glucan fibre in oats became a big deal in 1997, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said that eating oats “reduced the risk of coronary heart disease.” Health Canada followed the FDA lead more than a decade later when it agreed that beta glucan lowered blood cholesterol. Related stories: Oat sector […] Read more
